Monday, February 4, 2013

My Biggest Financial Struggle


Have you ever had the thought, “Man, it’d be nice to have “X”?  It’s funny how with me, “Man, it’d be nice to have “X” becomes “Man, I have to have “X”!  That thought change happens with me when the benefits of having X enter my mind.  For example, about 10 years ago we were so unorganized that I really wanted a desk to help straighten things up.  It made so much sense that it went from something that would be nice to have to something that we “needed” to have.  How much more organized, and therefore easier, our life would be! These thought changes have cost me so much money over the years.  In fact, it’s something I’m still working through.



Here is another example:  We wanted to switch our dining room with our kids play room because the play room was so big and the dining room was too small to entertain.  If we switched, dinner parties (e.g. – Christmas Eve Dinner, Easter Dinner, etc.) would be so much more comfortable and the kids could still have a playroom.  To make it better, we thought giving them a TV would be even better!  The kids could watch a show on their TV while we watched one on ours.  We just needed a TV.  Instead of using the old tube TV we had in the basement, we bought ourselves a nice 47 inch flat screen and gave the kids the 37 inch from the family room.  A great idea, right?  Maybe, but not a high priority.  I got the idea of a new TV in my head and that was it.  I couldn’t get it out and I had to have it.  Why?   



Right now, with it being so cold out, I really want to insulate our ducts to make the heating (and cooling in the summer) of our house more efficient.  It’s a great idea, right?  Insulate the ductwork and save money!   Why wouldn’t I want to do that?  It’s a good idea that has become something I need to do.  Why?



I’ve realized that when I have a good idea, and it makes sense to do, I make them “need to do’s”!  To quote Jeremy Foley, "What should be done eventually, must be done immediately."  True!  So true!  If the priority fits!  What I have to do is sit back and really think about what is necessary and what is not.  Right now we’re in debt.  Our first order of business needs to be getting out of debt.  I need to learn to quell those thoughts and keep things on track.  Yes, it would be nice to insulate the ducts right now.  It would help us save money by efficiently keeping the house warmer/cooler.  But we’re fine for right now!  It can be done at a later date.  It doesn’t need to be done right now!  I’m going to rephrase the quote from above...


“What should be done eventually, must be done as priorities allow!”   

Time to get priorities straight...and keep em straight!

4 comments:

  1. I totally agree with the quote you wrote, Brendan. Doing something that is out of your hand financially could be a starting point of having debts, which if left unnoticed, could become a huge problem in the future. If you have ample budget, it’s not a bad idea to do some renovations in your house. But if you don’t, it’s always better to save up instead. Keeping track of your expenses is a good way to make sure that you don’t overspend. Kudos to you, sir! :)

    Era Kehoe

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  2. your post is quite justifying I completely agree on your points

    ReplyDelete
  3. Planning for a house redo can be very exciting, but when it comes to the budget, only then you’ll start to feel the pain. Get your priorities straight. Plan your budget according to what you really need. There will come a time that you’ll have all the power to renovate and redo your house the way you want to. You just have to save as of this moment and pay for your existing debts first. :D

    Saturnina Corbeil

    ReplyDelete
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